Korea Herald, CFE conference

to a joint conference hosted by the Center for Free Enterprise and the Naumann Foundation for Liberty, July 7, from 2-6 p.m. As long as the world doesn't come to an end tonight then the EU-Korea FTA will go into effect tomorrow. The FTA will be one of the topics discussed at the event. I will kick off the conference by introducing the event sponsors.

Please let me know if you are interested in attending. It is absolutely FREE of charge for attendees, we truly welcome your attendance.

*****************************************************************

In a Korea Herald debate, I argue in favor of legalizing or decriminalizing prostitution.

Yes: Prohibition is worse than the crime
by Casey Lartigue Jr.
June 30, 2011
The Korea Herald

The South Korean government can keep prostitution illegal, but it can't
make it unpopular, to borrow a phrase from a former mayor of New
Orleans.

I argue that prostitution should be legalized (state
regulation) or decriminalized (neither legal nor illegal) for two main
reasons. One, the consequences of prohibition are worse than the
original "crime." Two, prohibition is an attack on the individual
freedom and economic liberty of consenting adults.

Prostitution
is denounced around the world ¡ª even by its customers ¡ª in opinion
polls, churches, the political arena, and news media. It is unpopular in
rhetoric but quite popular in reality. Visiting a prostitute is said to
be a rite of passage for young Korean men and part of a night out for
many Korean businessmen. An estimated 4 to 8 percent of Korean women are
engaged in the sex industry and the industry's value is equivalent to
20 percent of men buying sex more than four times a month.

In
2003, before a serious crackdown, about $22 billion (probably an
underestimate) was spent on prostitution here. That is similar to the
amount the Korean government spent on education that year and half of
what it spent on defense. Despite denunciations, crackdowns, public
humiliation, arrests and punishment, prostitution remains quite popular
here.

Prostitution will remain popular because of supply and
demand ¡ª one side willing to pay for sex, another side willing to
supply it. Crackdowns drive it underground, as Korea's 2004 Act on the
Prevention of the Sex Trade and Protection of Its Victims did,
reportedly pushing prostitutes to creatively expand beyond red-light
districts targeted by police.

Perhaps, as some advocates of
prohibition argue, law enforcement just hasn't tried hard enough, and
that leads to one of the main reasons I support legalizing or
decriminalizing prostitution: There are unintended consequences that
make enforcement worse than the "crime." Prostitutes are less likely to
call law enforcement when they are abused, beaten or cheated, and can't
go to court to have contracts enforced. Criminalization means that
people who have decided it is their best alternative among currently
available options are condemned to dealing with criminal organizations,
violent patrons, crooked cops (and, perhaps, rough IMF presidents).

As
bad as prostitution may be, it can't be as bad as the 18,351 reported
rapes and sex crimes, 1,374 murders, 6,351 robberies, and 256,423
burglaries among 590,087 violent crimes committed here in 2009,
according to Korea's National Police Agency. Why waste taxpayer money
and resources chasing prostitutes when there are violent crimes with
clear victims and victimizers?

The supporters of criminalizing
prostitution have their own arguments, not all of which can be easily
waved off. One that is a real concern is that poor people aren't free to
"choose" prostitution because of economic and cultural reasons. While
that is a real concern, it isn't clear how many prostitutes are in that
position and why eliminating choices, including bad ones, would help.
Even those prostitutes allegedly forced into it evade law enforcement ¡ª
apparently they prefer prostitution to prosecution.

That leads
me to a second main reason I support legalization or decriminalization:
Prohibition is an attack on the individual freedom and economic liberty
of consenting adults. After trading debating points, we are left with
the key question: Should adults who aren't directly harming others be
allowed to engage in activity (even when others disagree)? If adults can
give away sex for free, why can't they sell it? It should be up to a
spouse or partner, not politicians or the police, to object.

American
journalist H.L. Mencken once said, "Puritanism is the haunting fear
that someone, somewhere, may be having a good time." It isn't the
government's business what you do with your time and money, as long as
you are not directly harming others. Legalizing or decriminalizing
prostitution wouldn't be perfect, there would still be problems. But
allowing adults to engage in prostitution without the threat of arrest
would make things better for those participants, could reduce the
incentiive for the activity to be spread beyond designated areas, and
government could stop wasting resources trying to punish an extremely
popular voluntary activity.
By Casey Lartigue, Jr.

The writer is director of international
relations at the Center for Free Enterprise in Seoul.
(http://eng.cfe.org). He can be contacted at cjl(at)cfe.org or cfekorea
on Twitter.This article originally appeared in the Korea Herald on June 30, 2011.